Someone mentioned on IG that all of them were named after a Temptations member
Glad somebody caught that.
Norman = Norman Whitfield. The Tempts conceptualist/songwriter/producer during their late 60's socio-political era.
Norman Whitfield - Wikipedia
From 1966 to 1974, Whitfield produced virtually all of the Temptations' music, experimenting with
sound effects and other production techniques.
[1] He found a songwriting collaborator in lyricist
Barrett Strong, the performer on Motown's first hit record, "
Money (That's What I Want)", and wrote material for the Temptations and other Motown artists such as
Marvin Gaye and
Gladys Knight & the Pips, both of whom recorded Whitfield-produced hit versions of the Whitfield/Strong composition "
I Heard It Through the Grapevine". The Gladys Knight & the Pips' version was the best-selling Motown single so far, but it was surpassed a year later by Gaye's version.
After Temptations lead singer
David Ruffin was replaced by
Dennis Edwards in 1968, Whitfield moved the group into a harder, darker sound that featured a blend of
psychedelic rock and
funk heavily inspired by the work of
Sly & the Family Stone and
Funkadelic.
[5] He added contemporary song topics, moving from love songs to the social issues of the time, such as war, poverty and politics. The first Temptations single to feature this new
psychedelic soul style was "
Cloud Nine" in late 1968, which earned Motown its first
Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Performance by a Duo or Group, Vocal or Instrumental). A second Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for Whitfield and the Temptations came in 1973 with "
Papa Was A Rollin' Stone". The single's instrumental B-side earned Whitfield and arranger
Paul Riser a
Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance, and Whitfield and Strong shared the songwriters' award for
Best Rhythm and Blues Song.